Cobra was a Swiss-American
hard rock band from
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, active in the early 1980s. First forming in 1982, the band released an album in 1983 that led to tours supporting acts like
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni.
The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, though th ...
and
Nazareth. They are perhaps best-known for including several musicians who later joined more prominent bands, including future
Survivor singer
Jimi Jamison
Jimmy Wayne Jamison (August 23, 1951 – September 1, 2014) was an American singer. Best known as Jimi Jamison, he earned recognition as the frontman for the rock bands Target (American band), Target, Cobra (American band), Cobra, and Survivor ( ...
and
Krokus – and later
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
– guitarist
Mandy Meyer
Armand "Mandy" Meyer (born August 29 1960) is a Swiss-Canadian guitarist best known for being a member of the hard rock band Gotthard, the progressive rock band Asia, and the heavy metal band Krokus. Meyer has also worked with Cobra, Stealin' H ...
. Cobra went their separate ways in 1984.
History
After leaving Krokus on the heels of the ''
Hardware'' tour in 1982, guitarist
Mandy Meyer
Armand "Mandy" Meyer (born August 29 1960) is a Swiss-Canadian guitarist best known for being a member of the hard rock band Gotthard, the progressive rock band Asia, and the heavy metal band Krokus. Meyer has also worked with Cobra, Stealin' H ...
set up in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
to start his own band, joined by fellow Swiss compatriots, vocalist Tommy Andris and bassist Tommy Keiser, both formerly with
Lucerne, Switzerland-based group Roxane. Andris did not last and was replaced by the former
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
frontman
Jimi Jamison
Jimmy Wayne Jamison (August 23, 1951 – September 1, 2014) was an American singer. Best known as Jimi Jamison, he earned recognition as the frontman for the rock bands Target (American band), Target, Cobra (American band), Cobra, and Survivor ( ...
. Eventually named Cobra, the band's lineup was rounded out by Memphis-based guitarist/keyboardist Jack Holder (ex-
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970charting ten albums according to Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Their style is punctuated ...
) and drummer Jeff Klaven.
Managed by Butch Stone, who had also handled Jamison's old band Target as well as Krokus and
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970charting ten albums according to Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Their style is punctuated ...
, the band became a fixture on the local scene and managed to score a record deal with
Epic Records. The group released their lone album, the
Tom Allom
Thomas James Allom is an English record producer and sound engineer. His best-known work was in the 1970s and 1980s, working with artists such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Krokus, Loverboy, Def Leppard, Kix and Rough Cutt. Allom is a memb ...
-produced ''
First Strike'', in 1983.
In the British music magazine
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
the album took first place in the import chart.
"Blood On Your Money" got
MTV airplay, "Looking at You", and "Travelin' Man" were promoted at the TV Club. The band toured in the United States, opening for
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni.
The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, though th ...
, Nazareth, and Krokus; the band's show in Memphis on November 27, 1983, was broadcast on the
King Biscuit Flower Hour
The ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' was an American syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock music recording artists.
History
The program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 197 ...
(KBFH) and later partly released on the ''Live Attack!'' and ''Only You Can Rock Me'' bootlegs. The live set included a half dozen unreleased songs, including their original "I'm a Fighter", which was covered by the group
Van Zant in the mid-1980s, a cover of "On and On" from ''
MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium Salt (chemistry), salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a fl ...
s sophomore album and Head Games from Foreigner. Meanwhile, ''First Strike'' was only a moderate commercial success, Cobra disbanded in 1984,
primarily due to each member wanting to do different things.
Post-breakup
Following the band's breakup, Jamison auditioned for the
AOR band
Survivor and got the gig, replacing original lead singer
Dave Bickler
David Bickler (born March 31, 1953) is an American singer, best known as the lead singer for the rock band Survivor from 1978 until 1983, most notably on the #1 U.S. hit "Eye of the Tiger". In addition to his wide vocal range, his trademark l ...
, who had to step down due to throat issues. With Jamison fronting the band, Survivor went on to score multiple top-ten U.S. and international hits throughout the 1980s. Meyer returned to Europe and joined UK group
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, performing on their ''
Astra'' album, released in 1985. He also would go on to work with Los Angeles-based acts Stealin Horses and Ashton, co-wrote "I Wanna Be Loved", the lead-off single for
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
's
debut album, and eventually formed the band Katmandü with former
Fastway (and current
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic punk band[Life Is Good Out Now](_blank)
Floggingmolly.c ...
) vocalist
Dave King, with their sole album, a self-titled release, appearing in 1991.
Upon his return to Switzerland, Meyer joined
Gotthard from 1996 through 2003 before re-connecting with
Krokus in 2005, almost 25 years after his first tenure with the band. In addition to Krokus, Meyer is also a member of German metal band
Unisonic.
Klaven joined Krokus in time for 1984's ''
The Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
'', with Keiser following suit for ''
Change of Address
Post offices and other mail service providers typically offer a mail forwarding service, commonly known as hybrid mail or virtual post office box services, to redirect mail addressed to one location to another address – usually for a given per ...
'' and ''
Alive and Screamin'
''Alive and Screamin is the first live album by the Swiss hard rock band Krokus (band), Krokus, recorded on their tour of the United States and Canada in 1986.
Track listing
Personnel
;Krokus
*Marc Storace – Singing, vocals
*Fernand ...
'', both released in 1986. Following their exit from Krokus, Keiser went on to a short stint with German rockers Craaft, appearing on their 1988 sophomore album, ''Second Honeymoon'', while Klaven eventually teamed up with vocalist
Johnny Edwards, fresh out of
Foreigner, and former
Kingdom Come guitarist
Danny Stag, aka Danny Steigerwald, in the band Royal Jelly. The group's eponymous debut album was released in 1994. Meanwhile, Holder remained in Memphis, performing around the area and producing local acts, such as Medieval Steel,
Rob Jungklas and
Jimmy Davis & Junction. He also became a session musician and sideman for the likes of
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason".
Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...
,
Travis Tritt
James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...
,
Jonny Lang
Jon Gordon Langseth Jr. (born January 29, 1981), known as Jonny Lang, is an American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has made five albums that have charted on the top 50 of the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and has w ...
,
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...
, and
Ana Popović.
Jamison died on September 1, 2014, of what was originally thought to be a heart attack (later discovered to be a hemorrhagic brain stroke with "acute methamphetamine intoxication contributing"). Holder died early the following year, following a battle with cancer.
One-off reunion
On October 25, 2015, the three surviving members of Cobra's classic lineup, Mandy Meyer, Tommy Keiser and Jeff Klaven, reunited for the first time in over 30 years to help pay tribute to their former lead vocalist, the late
Jimi Jamison
Jimmy Wayne Jamison (August 23, 1951 – September 1, 2014) was an American singer. Best known as Jimi Jamison, he earned recognition as the frontman for the rock bands Target (American band), Target, Cobra (American band), Cobra, and Survivor ( ...
, as part of the star-studded "Jam for Jimi Jamison" at the Hard Rock Cafe in Memphis, Tennessee. They were joined by Jamison's son-in-law, Todd Poole (ex-Roxy Blue,
Saliva), Jeffery Wade Caughron and Kory Myers for the occasion, performing songs off the ''First Strike'', as well as a cover of Krokus' "Screaming in the Night".
Meyer also performed Cobra songs, live in 2011, when he teamed up with German vocalist Hagen Grohe, who had featured on
Joe Perry's 2009 solo album, ''
Have Guitar, Will Travel'', under the name Katmandü, with former Krokus drummer Patrick Aeby, bassist François Mohr, and keyboardist Alan Guy rounding out the lineup. They performed at the Rock Oz'Arènes festival in
Avenches
Avenches () is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully.
History
The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of the ...
, Switzerland on August 4, 2011, playing songs co-written by Meyer and recorded by Cobra, Van Zant, House of Lords, Katmandü and Gotthard as well as a cover of Krokus' "Fire".
Discography
Other releases
The band created material for a second album, all the songs played in live concerts and tours. The songs can be found as ''1982 Demos'' and from both ''Live Attack'' and ''Only You Can Rock Me'', the unreleased compilation album from the live presentation in the Memphis TV Club in November 27, 1983. On November 15, 1985,
Van Zant released the song "I'm A Fighter" for his album by Geffen Records, written by Meyer, Jamison and Andris, originally written for the planned but never recorded second Cobra album, but they played this record on live performances. The song climbed to No. 30 on the US Billboard singles chart and is a popular anthem in WWF wrestling matches. No. 16 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and it was the theme song for
WWE Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff and has a music video (with "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler).
In 1994, the Swiss hard rock band
Gotthard recorded the Cobra song "Travelin' Man" on their ''
Dial Hard
''Dial Hard'' is the second studio album released by the hard rock band Gotthard.
The album peaked at #1 on the Swiss Charts and was certified as platinum for exceeding 30,000 sales.
Track listing
All songs written by Steve Lee/Leo Leoni/Chr ...
'' album. The album, released by
BMG and produced by former Krokus bass player,
Chris von Rohr
Christoph "Chris" von Rohr (born 24 October 1951 in Solothurn) is a Swiss rock musician, record producer, author, columnist, radio and television presenter. He is best known for being a member and founder of the hard rock band, Krokus.
History ...
, peaked at No. 1 on the Swiss Chart and was certified as platinum for exceeding 30,000 sales.
Mandy Meyer, one of the writers of the song, joined Gotthard three years later. In 2002, Gotthard would cover yet another Cobra song, "Looking At You", which appeared on the ballads compilation album ''
One Life One Soul
''One Life One Soul'', additionally subtitled ''Best of Ballads'', is the first compilation album released by the hard rock band Gotthard. As the title indicates, the album consists only of ballads from Gotthard's studio albums from the albums '' ...
'', produced by von Rohr and released by
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Hard rock musical groups from Tennessee
Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee
Musical groups established in 1982
Musical groups disestablished in 1984
Epic Records artists